Avengers of Azeroth
by Dawndragon the Storyteller
Summary: (Discontinued) What would happen if Earth's Mightiest Heroes became trapped in a video game? This isn't SAO; we're playing WoW! Follow Steve, Clint, Tony, Natasha, and Thor as they learn to navigate the strange realm of Azeroth. Meanwhile, their friends back home (Pepper, Bruce, Bucky, and Sam) have to try and figure out how to get them back home. (Again, Discontinued. Sorry.)
1. Introductions and Accidents

Besides the fact that Jarvis was offline for maintenance for the day, it was a typical day in Stark Tower. Well, typical for a group of people like the Avengers.

Everyone was in the living room, all engaged in different activities. Tony Stark and Bruce Banner were moving some experimental scientific equipment from the lab to the terrace. Clint Barton was introducing Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes to his favorite video game, World of Warcraft. Sam Wilson was lounged on the couch watching a football game. Thor was nearby in a recliner taking a nap, a half-eaten Poptart in his lap. Natasha Romanov and Pepper Potts were sitting up at the bar, chatting about things the boys really couldn't care less about.

"Hold on a second, Tony," Bruce told the billionaire, setting his end of the giant machine down. "I think I left the stabilizers back in the lab, and we can't start the experiment without them." "Sure we can," Tony replied impatiently. "We've done without them before, we'll be fine now. I really wanna see how this one works compared to the smaller models." "That's just it," argued Bruce. "The smaller models were more stable. This one... who can tell? We need to be careful or else we could rip a hole in the fabric of reality!" "Theoretically..." Tony muttered, still rather unconvinced at Bruce's somewhat dramatic conclusion. He didn't continue to argue when Bruce went towards the elevator and the lab. _We sure don't need another Hulk_ _episode_, he thought._ Not after we just finished renovating the tower._

"This is my highest level character," Clint was telling Steve and Bucky, referring to the game. "He's a level 87 Night Elf hunter. Mityclint is his name." Bucky and Steve both started laughing at the name, with Steve chuckling and Bucky full-out guffawing. "What?" asked Clint defensively. "He was my first character! It's not like I'm gonna change it." "Why's that?" asked Natasha, who had turned her attention towards the three at the computer. "Because Blizzard doesn't allow name changes yet," he said sulkily.

Bucky stood up. "You nerds keep playing your silly computer game while I get some popcorn," he told them. He walked off and disappeared into the kitchen. Soon afterwards came his frustrated yell. "HOW DO YOU WORK THE MICROWAVE AGAIN?" Sam jumped up from the couch. "I'll go help him," he offered. Not long afterwards, the fire alarm went off and the smell of something burning drifted into the living room. "So much for a day off," muttered Pepper, going to fix whatever the boys had broken in there this time.

By this time, Clint was helping Steve create a character, telling him all about the different races, classes, and other aspects of the perfect avatar. Thor hadn't stirred from his spot on the chair. Natasha was checking her phone for notifications, and Tony was texting Bruce, telling him to hurry up.

Nobody had noticed that one of Tony and Bruce's devices had turned on.

A little blue light was flashing on the side of it. At first it was at a slow, one blink-per-second rate, but it soon began to pick up.

The device powered up, revving up until-

_FLASH! _A blinding light filled the room, and some shouts of dismay and confusion arose.

A brilliant blast of energy erupted from the device.

The light faded almost as quickly as it had filled the room. The room itself was little changed. The only difference was that the five former inhabitants were now gone.

That, and the computer screen had changed to a character selection menu with five new avatars.


	2. A Strange New World

Clint woke up with a pounding headache. "Ugh," he groaned, sitting up. He massaged his temple while he tried to remember what had happened before he had blacked out. "What happe-" he started, stopping mid-sentence when he opened his eyes fully. Wherever he was now, he definitely wasn't in the living room of the tower. "Uh, guys?" he asked, looking around for his friends. Sure enough, Steve, Natasha, and Tony were all nearby. All of them appeared as confused as Clint felt. After a moment of silence while they studied their surroundings, Tony spoke up. "I know we all were thinking it, but I'll be the first to say it out loud. Where the heck are we?" "It appears we're in some forest region," stated Steve as he starred at his surroundings. "Brilliant observation, Captain Obvious," muttered Tony.

Clint couldn't help feeling that this place seemed familiar. There were many trees around, creating a thick canopy that still allowed for plenty of golden light to shine on the area. Little undergrowth could be found besides the occasional bush or tall patch of grass or cluster of flowers. Nearby, several hills led up to a small mountain range, which in turn gave way to higher mountains. Overall, a quality of peacefulness and tranquility surrounded the area.

The sound of footsteps caught Clint's attention. As he turned around, what he saw helped him figure out exactly where he and his friends were. A tall, blue humanoid with hooves and a tail was staggering towards the small group of humans. It seemed unbalanced, perhaps unsure of how to walk. "Ah, my friends! I have found you at last!" it exclaimed in an accent that seemed to contain elements of several different languages and dialects. "Who's that?" asked Steve. "Correction: WHAT'S that?" asked Tony. The blue creature looked confused. "My friends, you do not recognize me? It is I, Thor! Son of Odin!" "THOR?!" exclaimed everyone else in unison.

Everyone, that is, except Clint. "This is going to sound crazy," he told his friends, "but I think I know exactly where we are." This caught his fellow Avengers' attentions. "What is it, Clint?" asked Natasha, who had been mostly silent up until this point. The archer took a deep breath before speaking. "If I'm right," he said, "we have somehow been transported into the video game, _World of Warcraft_."

* * *

By now, those back at the tower had noticed that something was not right. Those in the kitchen had heard the cries of confusion from the living room, followed by a noise that sounded like a cross between an energy release and a camera. They returned to the scene in question to investigate. They were met with an empty room. Their friends were nowhere to be found.

"Tony?" called Pepper, searching around for her fiance. Just recently, Tony had worked up the courage to propose to her. She had obviously said yes.

"Steve! Where are you?" hollered Bucky, wondering what trouble his long-time best friend had gotten himself into. Even when he was small, Steve could always find something to get himself into. _Wherever he is, Natasha had better be there to keep an eye on him._

"Thor!" yelled Sam. "I thought I told you not to change the channel!" Sure enough, the football game that had been on before had been replaced by a map of some sort. It showed four continents surrounding a massive whirlpool. Each continent was labeled with a name: Kalimdor on the left, Eastern Kingdoms to the right, Northerend on top, and Pandaria on the bottom.

Before any more investigating could be done, Bruce came back up carrying the forgotten stabilizers. When he saw the confused looks on everyone's faces, he paused. "Wha- what did I miss? Where are the others?" "That's what we're trying to figure out," Pepper told him. "The three of us were in the kitchen when we heard shouts coming from in here. Then there was this odd noise, and when we came back everyone was gone!"

Bruce pondered over this for a moment. "Have you tried calling or texting them?" he asked. This time, Bucky answered. "I may not know much about modern tech," he said, "but I'm pretty sure you have to have your phone with you to be able to answer it." He pointed to where the cell phones of Tony, Natasha, and Clint were sitting.

That's when Bruce noticed the device. It hadn't moved from its original spot, but a red light, indicating a malfunction, blinked rapidly. "Oh, geez," muttered Bruce as he walked over to examine it. "What?" asked the others in unison. Bruce looked towards where his invention was pointed: the computer. "The prototype must've gone off," he said, mostly to himself. "What does the machine do?" asked Pepper. "Theoretically," said Bruce, "it has the capability to temporarily open doors to different realities or dimensions. I know, I know, it sounds like something out of a bad sci-fi film, but me and Tony have done a lot of research on it. We were planning on testing it today, but it's still completely experimental."

"So what does all that science talk mean?" asked Sam. "It appears," said Bruce, "that the device must've been activated accidentally. When it went off, it must have hit the others. I don't know what it did to them, but we need to figure that out so we can reverse whatever happened."

* * *

"What are you talking about, Clint?" questioned Tony. "That sounds like something out of a bad sci-fi movie. And I know what bad sci-fi movies are like. I grew up in the 70's and 80's."

"Don't you see?" said Clint. "Thor's a Dranei. We're here in what appears to be Elwynn Forrest. It all makes sense. We're in Azeroth!" "But how did we get here?" asked Natasha. "And why is Thor... blue?" "That I don't know," Clint told her. "I'm guessing you don't know how to get us out of here, either," said Tony. Clint shook his head. "Not a clue."

"So what do we do now?" asked Steve. That was met with a chorus of silence.

Finally, Thor spoke up in his new accent. "Perhaps our ally could assist us in exploring this realm. It appears he has much knowledge to share with us on life and customs of this place." The others glanced at each other. Thor's way of speaking was difficult enough to understand. Now, they had to re-learn his voice and accent all over again along with memorizing his new face. Nevertheless, they all pretty much agreed to what he said. "Who knows how long it'll be until we get back home. While we're here, I might as well teach you guys all I know about the game," Clint said.

The five of them decided that they'd best not be outdoors in the wilds of a strange world until they were properly prepared, so Clint suggested they locate the nearest human settlement. As it turned out, that settlement was Goldshire. As they looked around, they noticed two buildings in the central region of the town, with another cabin off to the side. A duel was taking place, the two combatants surrounded by a small crowd of spectators. Several children played by a small pond nearby, and some domesticated animals roamed around. "We're in luck!" Clint said to the others. "Goldshire not only has class trainer for most of the classes, it's also right near Stormwind and Northshire." "Speak English," Tony told him, who now had an understanding of what it was like to be utterly clueless. _So this is what it's like to not be me,_ he thought.

They made their way into a building called "Lion's Pride Inn". A woman in a green and blue dress smiled at them as they entered. "Welcome to the Lion's Pride Inn!" she greeted them. "I'm the assistant innkeeper. Let me know if you need anything." "Thank you, we will," replied Clint, returning the smile. He led his party to a table near the fireplace. They all sat down, and Clint began to fill them in on the basics of the game. "It's a simple game once you get the hang of it," he told them. "All you need to do is complete quests and kill enemies to level up. Of course, there's a bunch of other features to enhance gameplay, but more on those later.

"Probably the most important factor to decide upon right now is what class to be. There's several different classes available: Hunter, Warrior, Druid, Paladin, Priest, Mage, Rogue, Warlock, Shaman, Death Knight, and most recently added, Monk. Now, some of the classes aren't available for all of us, like Druid or Shaman or Death Knight. After that, it really depends on which class you'd like best. Personally, I like hunters because of the archery abilities, but that's just me.

"Natasha, I think you'd make a great rogue. Rogues are master assassins who use stealth, or invisibility, as well as poisons and blades." Natasha nodded, smiling slightly as Clint described the class. _That sounds like something I'd enjoy,_ she thought.

"Steve," continued Clint, "I think you'd be best as a paladin, a plate-wearing, ultra-strong defender of the Light. They have lots of abilities that use shields, not to mention the fact that they're really into justice and righteousness." "Very funny," Steve said sarcastically, referring to the last part. Otherwise, he thought Paladins sounded swell.

Clint turned his attention to Tony. "As for you..." he started, pausing a moment to think. "Oh! I know! Tony, you should be a mage." "What?!" exclaimed Tony. "No! That's lame. I'm not going to be some dumb wizard-" "Hear me out," Clint requested. "Mages are pretty cool, despite what you may think. They specialize in fire, frost, and arcane magic. Fire and frost are self-explanatory, but arcane magic is one of the more interesting specs. Arcane magic deals with teleportation, portals, polymorphing, conjuration-" "Oh, alright. I guess I'll give it a try if it'll make you be quiet," said Tony with a reluctance in his voice. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but all that stuff sounded rather cool.

Finally, Clint turned to Thor. "Okay, Thor, since you're a Dranei, your options are a little different. Unlike the others, you can be a shaman. I think you'd like that because of the lightning abilities, but you also might like being a paladin because of the hammer abilities. Either way, it's your call, but I'd strongly recommend you go the path of a shaman." Thor pondered this for a moment. "I will take heed of your suggestion, my friend," he said. "You have much knowledge of the realm in which we are in, and it would be foolish of me to ignore your advice. I shall become a 'man of sha'." "It's just 'shaman', Thor," Clint corrected him. Just then, the assistant innkeeper came over to their table carrying a platter of drinks. "They're on the house," she told them as she passed them out. Everyone thanked her before taking a sip of what tasted like hot apple cider.

And on that day, the Mightiest Heroes of Earth joined together in a new realm. They did not know what the future held for them, but this they knew for certain- whatever happened here in Azeroth, they would stick together. They would remain a team. And no matter what, they would stay true to themselves and each other. And on that day, they became the Avengers of Azeroth.

* * *

**Author's Note~**

**Hello everyone! I'm super thrilled you all liked my first chapter, and I really appreciate the two reviews I've gotten already.**

**I'm sorry this chapter is so lengthy and boring at parts, but the next chapter ought to be a bit more exciting.**

**To answer a question in the reviews, these are the Avengers from the recent movies. I just put them under the Comics categories because the Avengers was a comic first.**

**If you have any suggestions for the story, feel free to leave me a review or PM. I'll be happy to consider it and let you know what I decided! :)**

****Please review this! I'd appreciate any feedback and/or encouragement you can give me!****

**Other than that, I believe that's all for now. Thanks for reading! **


	3. Mastering the Basics

_This chapter is dedicated to Tori on her 16th birthday._

* * *

"First things first," said Clint the next day as the group gathered for breakfast. "We all need to train. And to do that, we'll need some money." Before anyone could check their pockets, Clint stopped them. "Our American money is worthless here. We're going to need Azerothian copper, silver, and gold coins." "And how do you propose to get that money?" asked Tony. "Simple," replied Clint. "I wonder, how much did that watch of yours cost back home? A hundred dollars or so, maybe? I'd be willing to bet that just about any vendor would easily give you 20 silver for it." The other Avengers' eyes widened as they realized what Clint was suggesting. "I know, it sounds a bit crazy. Trust me, though, we'll need whatever we can get. At this moment, selling our belongings is the most reliable way of getting the money we'll need to survive here in Azeroth."

While no one was overly eager to do so, the others agreed that this was really their best option versus the alternative of risking their lives by rushing into battle unprepared. The items that they relinquished for the greater good included all of their wrist-watches and keys, as well as Natasha's earrings and necklace. When sold, their goods gave them a grand total of 65 silver and 14 copper coins. "This should be enough to hold us over until we start earning more," Clint assured his friends.

Later that afternoon, Clint gave the Avengers the grand tour of Goldshire, including where their class trainers were located. Now that Tony and Natasha had already been acquainted with their trainers back at the Inn, Clint was taking Steve to his. "After I get you all set up here, I've got to take Thor to Stormwind," he was telling Steve. "Do you think you'll be alright here without me?" "Uh, sure," replied Steve, who was still trying to wrap his head around everything that was going on.

"And now, Steve, I'd like you to meet Brother Wilhelm," said Clint, leading his friend to a brown-haired man standing behind the blacksmith building. Steve extended his hand to the paladin, and the Brother shook it. "Nice to meet you," said Steve. "The pleasure's all mine!" replied Wilhelm. "Now what can I help you with today?" "Uh, my friend here tells me you can help me become a paladin?" Steve asked, casting an unsure glance at Clint. Wilhelm's grin spread across his face. "Why, of course!" he exclaimed. "I'm happy to help anyone looking to seek the path of the Light!"

"The Light?" questioned Steve. This was the second time he had heard this term, and by now he was curious. "What is that, exactly?" "You- you've never heard of the Light?" asked the astonished Wilhelm. "He's not from around here," explained Clint. From here, the Brother launched into a long, detailed speech about the force known as the Light, and the countless crusades and principals of it as well. Clint took this opportunity to sneak away and take Thor to Stormwind.

The two talked as they walked down the cobblestone path towards the gates of the city. "If I may, my friend," said Thor, "I have a question regarding my current form...?" "You mean why you're a Dranei?" asked Clint. Thor nodded. Clint continued. "That's another thing I don't know. Maybe we'll figure it out when we know why we're here in the first place. My guess is that the game didn't know how to register you since you aren't exactly human. If that's the case, I don't know why you aren't a Titan, Aesir, or Vry'kul, but I guess that's a question for another day. Maybe it needed you to be an adventurer's race or something." Thor seemed satisfied with this answer, so he directed his attention to the scenery.

By now, they had reached the Valley of Heroes, and Clint told Thor about the five figures depicted in the form of massive statues. Throughout the city, they passed a group of schoolchildren, a baker selling bread and baked goods, a group of three mages discussing magical theory, several patrolling guards, and many other residents of Stormwind, until finally they reached the Dwarven District. Clint led his blue friend into a tavern, and the two of them went up the stairs to the balcony where a Dranei woman stood. Clint introduced the two in a similar manner to the way he introduced Steve to Wilhelm. Soon after, he left Thor with his trainer and went in search of his own in Old Town.

* * *

"Are you sure you are prepared to train in the art of magic? The Arcane burns the untrained mind." If you were considering to become a mage and this was the warning you received, chances are that you would probably go home and think about becoming a fisherman instead. However, Tony Stark was no quitter, especially when challenged. And this remark was practically an insult to his amazingly gifted and extremely humble mind. And his reply was as follows: "Are Dranei blue? Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm capable of this!"

This was all Zaldimar Wefhellt needed to hear. "Very well. Let's get started right away. First of all, I need to know the extent of your knowledge of basic spell-casting and magic." "...Assume I was born yesterday."

Zaldimar let out a long, drawn out sigh. This was going to take longer than expected.

* * *

Keryn Sylvius was not easily impressed. As the go-to rogue trainer of Goldshire, she had seen dozens upon dozens of wanna-be assassins who hadn't the slightest idea of the differences between a lock-pick and a letter opener. That didn't mean that Keryn couldn't teach them, mind you. It just meant that she didn't waste her valuable time on people who had about as much natural talent as a sack of potatoes.

Today, however, Keryn was impressed by the young woman who stood before her. She was already comfortable with a variety of weapons, she had a good basic understanding of how poisons worked, and, to top it off, had managed to sneak up on Keryn upon entering the room. Anyone who is able to sneak up on a rogue trainer might as well be given their title right then. However, it doesn't work like that.

"I must say, Ms.-" "Call me Natasha," the Avenger told her. Keryn nodded, then continued. "Natasha, you are much more than meets the eye. And a heck of a lot more talented than the usual rogue-in-training that comes in here. Are you sure you're not some top-ranked adventurer just trying to pull my leg?" Natasha nodded. Keryn let out a long, drawn-out sigh. "Well, I guess that's all I can teach you, then. As standard procedure goes, I'm supposed to give you this book with different abilities and send you off to Northshire to help out with the Orc invasion. Still," she added, "I believe you've got too much potential to be reduced to bashing Blackrock skulls for copper. I'll give you some advice. I have a friend who works for SI:7. He's a recruiter, and he's looking for some new talents to add to their team. It would be good pay and an exciting job, and it's not an everyday opportunity. If you like," she added, leaning a tad closer to Natasha and lowering her voice, "I can get you the job."

Natasha took a moment to register everything she had just heard. On one hand, it could be a good way to show off her skills. On the other hand... "I appreciate the offer," she told Keryn, "but, no. I really can't leave my group. We're sort of... a team." Keryn Sylvius studied Natasha for a moment. Then, she simply shrugged it off. "Well," said the trainer, "it's your choice. If you change your mind anytime soon, I'll still be able to help you out." Natasha nodded in gratitude. "I'll think about it," she told the other as she prepared to leave.

Keryn watched her leave, still pondering what had happened. In her mind, there were only two kinds of people who would turn down an opportunity like Natasha had: a fool, and a person who was very dedicated to their team. Natasha didn't strike her as the foolish type, so Keryn decided that the latter must be the case. _Whoever her friends are_, she mused, _they must be some special people..._

* * *

The mood in Lion's Pride Inn was light and merry that evening. As the five had all returned from their individual escapades, they now enjoyed a good-sized dinner together as they recounted their day's adventures. Tony's tale of accidentally giving his trainer a haircut with a misplaced fireball spell aroused much laughter from the whole group, and Thor's explanation of how the elements worked was almost as informative as it was confusing. Natasha said nothing except that her day went fine; she refused to share any more details.

Steve just sat back in his chair and sighed. "I'm glad you all had a good day, at least. I'm... I'm not so sure about this whole paladin thing anymore..." "Don't worry," Clint reassured him. "You'll do great!" "Yeah," said Tony," and since when has Captain America ever shied away from a challenge?" "Well," said Steve simply, "we're not in America anymore..." Clint clapped him on the back. "Trust me, Cap, you'll do fine!"

"How about you, Clint?" asked Natasha. "Me?" asked the archer. She nodded. "Yeah. How are you faring here in Azerath, or whatever it's called." "It's Azer_oth_," he corrected her. "Anyways, I'm just glad they have bows here, or else I'd just be some guy who knows too much about video games." This evoked another bout of laughter from the others. "In all seriousness, though," he said, "I'm just glad that everything here is all sorted out; now that we've covered training, equipment, and our bill here at the inn, we can turn our attention to our next objective: quests.

"In order to get more experience, we need to complete a lot of quests. Of course, later on we'll be able to do dungeons, raids, and the like, but for now we have to do some quests. The best place to start is Northshire, so we'll head out there in the morning. I know it won't be an easy task, but I do know this: whatever we do, we'll do together, as a team. Whatever problem we face, we'll face it as one.

"And whatever happens tomorrow,_ we're ready for it!_"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Hey, everyone! Thank you for patiently waiting for eight whole months! I'm sorry about the unexpected hiatus, but this story is back from its winter slumber and should continue to get updates, especially with summer break coming up.**

**I know this chapter isn't great in some parts, but I figured it was about time that I publish something. This upcoming chapter should be a bit more exciting for you action-lovers out there. **

**Again, thank you everyone for the reviews, favorites, and continued support. I really don't think I would have gotten this far without your encouragement. :)**

**~Drago**


	4. Interlude: The Activity Log

Bruce sat in front of his computer, watching the loading bar inch ever forwards.

Pepper came out of the kitchen holding two cups: one of coffee, the other of tea. She handed the latter to Bruce and took a sip of her own beverage. "What's the news?" she asked looking over at the screen. Bruce sighed and sat back, gesturing to the screen. "It's taking forever to load," he told her, "but once it's up, it will bring up the log of the device's activity, which should tell us exactly what the device did."

As it went, the load did not complete until later that evening after Bucky had returned from seeing Sam off to the airport to catch his flight back to Washington D.C. He had just walked through the door when a loud notification sound came from the computer. Naturally, the three of them were in front of the screen as soon as humanly possible. "Here we go," murmured Bruce as he clicked _Show Report_. The anticipation was intense as they waited for the activity log to come up.

It read as follows:

_Activating systems..._

_Complete. Operating systems live and fully functional._

_Scanning field for compatible transfer location._

_Scan complete. (1) location located [i.d. 924d.w_o_w]._

_Locating valid targets for transfer..._

_Scan complete. (5) targets located._

_Initiating transfer of targets..._

_Complete. Targets (5) successfully transferred to location (1)._

_Integration initialized at 1%._

_Sending tracking data to [i.d. lr_tv]. (Authorization code: 070418)_

_Setting system to standby._

Bruce read through the text, then reread it several more times. Bucky and Pepper stood behind him, glancing at each other as they read the log. Finally, Pepper broke the silence. "So," she said slowly, "it transported them somewhere else. But... where? What is this '924' location it lists? And what does it mean by 'integration?'" Bruce thought about these questions, shaking his head. "I honestly have no clue," he admitted.

Bucky frowned. "W-O-W... That seems familiar for some reason. I just can't put- wait a minute." He looked up at the others. "That game Clint was showing us, World of Something-or-Other, had some sort of acronym like that. Maybe they were transferred to the game?" Bruce thought for a moment. "As bizarre as that sounds, I will admit that it's feasible based upon our limited knowledge of the device. Of course," he continued, running his hand through his hair, "everything is guesswork at this point. Until I can run some serious tests, we won't have any definitive answers."

"It'll probably help to figure out what this "lr_tv" location is," suggested Pepper. Bruce nodded. "I can likely track that part down easily enough. The hard part will be locating everything else, including our friends."

A long silence ensued, each of them lost in their own private thoughts. "Wherever that are," murmured Pepper, "I just hope they're alright."

* * *

**AN:** Hi, everyone! At long last, I have updated!

I'm especially sorry for how long it's taken me to write this (curse my goldfish-sized attention-span!), and I apologize if any of the technical jargon isn't the best.

This is just an interlude, with a full-sized chapter coming up in the near future. Until then, stay tuned!


End file.
